Today we are checking out the 6-bay AS-606T NAS (Network Attached Storage) device from new comer Asustor. The name Asustor is very similar to Asus and that is no accident, as it is a subsidiary of Asus which focus solely on NAS and video surveillance products. With so many new competitors joining the NAS market, we were keen to see what Asustor had to offer...

The design and build quality of the AS-606T is excellent, though we have to wonder if Asustor has worked with QNAP is any way, as the design shares an uncanny resemblance to the TS-669L. Like much of the competition, which includes QNAP and Synology, Asustor are only offering a limited 2-year warranty with the AS-606T. Still, given that the AS-606T will likely be run 24/7, there is a good chance any real issues will be revealed within that time period.

Professional data storage solutions provider, Infortrend, announced five new advanced EonNAS models at CES 2013 in January. This included new additions to the EonNAS Pro and EonNAS 1000 series. Designed from SMBs and SOHOs these new NAS devices feature an advanced new hardware design combined with ZFS and enterprise-level data service functionalities...

Given that the EonNAS Pro 510 is the first Infortrend product we have reviewed there were a lot of totally new things that needed to be tested. First and foremost was the ZFS file system, as this is the first time we have tested a NAS device using this file system as virtually every other product that we have ever tested uses the EXT file system.

Today we are checking out a powerful 4-bay NAS from QNAP called the TS-469L, which is designed for home and small office use. Powered by an Intel Atom processor, it comes with 1GB of memory and supports the latest QNAP Turbo Station 3.8 software which brings about several new features...

When it came to on-disk copy performance the TS-469L provided mixed results, beating the DS413 in some tests while losing in others. In short we would say there is very little difference between the TS-469L and DS413 in terms of performance, depending on what you are doing one may be faster than the other, but overall they provide a similar experience.

Today we are checking out an affordable 5-bay NAS from Thecus that can handle up to 20TB’s of storage and is powered by an Intel Atom processor with a large 2GB memory capacity. Called the N5550 it is priced at a little over $500. At this price there are few 4-bay NAS products that can match the value and features of the N5550...

The most important factor to consider with the Thecus N5550 is the price and that really goes for any product. However in the case of the N5550 it’s rather cheap for a 5-bay NAS with a retail price of just $510. As we mentioned earlier in comparison the Drobo 5N costs $600, the QNAP TS-569L $750 and the Synology DS1512+ a whopping $840.

Today we are checking out the Synology DiskStation DS713+ as well as the optional DX513 expansion unit. The DS713+ is powered by an Intel Atom D2700 dual-core processor and features a 1GB memory buffer while the DX513 expands storage from 2-bays to a more impressive 7-bays. These hardware specifications should make the DS713+ quite snappy and the ability to support Link Aggregation should help maximize performance of the dual bay NAS device...

Overall we are impressed with the build quality, design, performance and features of the Synology DS713+. Meanwhile the DX513 expansion unit makes it possible to increase storage without sacrificing performance, though it’s probably not the most cost effective way to get 7-bay support. Still, this is a flexible solution for growing businesses or professionals that cannot afford to cough up $800+ right off the bat for the larger devices.

Today we are checking out OCZ’s Vector 512GB SSD which was released late last year. 2012 was a big year for OCZ as it marked the introduction of their first in-house SSD, the Vector. Though even before the introduction of the Vector, OCZ were on a high with the release of their still very fast Vertex 4 SSD...

What we can say with absolute certainty is that in terms of performance the Vector is a worthy successor to the Vertex 4 series. The Vector was on average 27% faster in our file copy tests and is set to cost a little over 10% more, making it not only faster but also better value. Overall the OCZ Vector 512GB appears to be a solid contender in the performance SSD market.

Today we are checking out the latest addition to the elite Western Digital Black hard drive series which supports a massive 4TB storage capacity. Designed to deliver a balance between speed, capacity and price, we are keen to see what this latest WD creation has in store for us...

Even at $400 the Western Digital WD Black 4TB comes at a cost of just 10c per gigabyte, whereas the Samsung SSD 840 Pro 512GB costs $1.17 per gigabyte, making it almost 12x more expensive. Therefore when it comes to capacity hard drives still have a significant advantage over SSDs and the recent arrival of 4TB models such as the WD Black only solidifies this.

Today we have the new Synology DS213+ and DS213air on the test bed, which were the first 2-bay models to be released in the x13 series. The DS213+ features similar hardware to the recently reviewed DS413, while the DS213air follows in the DS413j’s footsteps...

Based on similar hardware to the recently reviewed DS413, the DS213+ delivered similar performance in most of our tests. In fact we were surprised to find that in many of the tests the 2-bay DS213+ was actually faster despite only being tested with two WD Red hard drives in RAID1 opposed to the four used in the DS413 (RAID5).

Today we have the new Synology DS413 and DS413j on the test bed, which are the first 4-bay models to be released in the x13 series. These new models do away with the Intel Atom processors used by the previous generation 4-bay models and instead use Freescale and Marvell solutions...

Although the Synology DS413j is not intended to compete with high-end Atom driven products like the QNAP TS-269L, we feel it makes a very compelling argument in this particular comparison. Overall there isn’t a great deal separating the two in terms of performance and it is not unless you look at upload performance exclusively that the TS-269L looks like the obvious option.

Last month QNAP announced its latest high performance TS-x69L Turbo NAS series for Small Office/Home Office and Small Business use. This new series is powered by a dual-core Intel Atom processor that is supported with 1GB of memory, while models range from 2-bay up to 8-bay solutions...

QNAP seems to have the market well covered with its new high-end 2,4,5,6 and 8-bay TS-x69L series. These new NAS devices look great, perform well and are packed with features such as dual Gigabit LAN, eSATA and of course USB 3.0. Those looking for a high performance NAS device that supports anywhere from 2 drives up to 8 should certainly have the new QNAP TS-x69L series in mind.

Today we are taking a look at the QNAP TS-419P II Turbo NAS, which is a 4-bay network attached storage device that aims to deliver the perfect balance of performance and price to small office and home users. The TS-419P II includes a few important features such as eSATA and USB 3.0, while it can be loaded with the latest firmware...

The inclusion of USB 3.0 in the QNAP TS-419P II is actually quite surprising as early samples did not include this technology and instead featured 2.0 support exclusively. Many early reviews were quick to point this out as a disadvantage of this device and it seems QNAP took notice and quickly made an update before hitting mass production.

Today we are checking out three affordable single bay NAS products from Synology known as the DiskStation DS112+, DS112 and DS112j. These devices are ideal for those that want the convenience of network attached storage without a huge storage capacity, and they offer the same functionality as the bigger more expensive models...

Starting with the entry-level Synology DiskStation DS112j which can be had for as little as $150 in diskless form, we were impressed with the performance of this device. Despite being equipped with just a single drive we saw strong performance in our download tests, delivering similar performance to the more expensive DS112 and QNAP TS-119P II.

Today we have the new Synology DS412+ on the test bed, which is the first 4-bay model to be released in the x12 series. Armed with a 2.13GHz four threaded processor and 1GB of memory, we expect the DS412+ to be considerably faster than its predecessor...

There is no questioning the performance of the new DS412+, as the dual-core Atom 2.13GHz processor allowed it to hang with some of the fastest units we have tested. The DS412+ had no trouble matching the performance of the bigger and more expensive DS1512+ and with a load consumption of just 46 watts it was also very efficient.

Today we are checking out the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo v2, which is designed to provide home and small business users with a budget-friendly network attached storage (NAS) solution for efficient data backup and convenient file sharing...

The Netgear ReadyNAS Duo v2 was a solid performer delivering some of the best results we have seen from a $200 diskless NAS device. When compared to the Synology DS212j we were surprised to find that the ReadyNAS Duo v2 was up to 35% faster in real-world situations. The power consumption of the ReadyNAS Duo v2 was also excellent using roughly the same amount of power as the Synology DS212j, making it a more efficient product.

Today we are checking out a new flash drive from Patriot featuring a modest 32GB storage capacity. Known as the Supersonic Boost XT, this new flash drive supports the USB 3.0 interface for fast read/write performance. Whereas most large capacity USB 3.0 thumb drives are very pricey, the Boost XT is designed to deliver performance on a budget...

Overall, for those seeking a thumb drive that can really take advantage of the extra bandwidth offered by the USB 3.0 interface then the Patriot Supersonic Boost XT isn’t for you. Rather this is the ideal product for those after something they can quickly download their data from, around 3x faster than USB 2.0, while also having the ability to absorb knocks and bumps without a problem.

Building on the success of the QNAP TS-x69 series is the new TS-x79 range, which features two new models. Leading the charge for QNAP are the TS-879 Pro and TS-1079 Pro high-end small and medium business desktop NAS solutions. These new eight and ten bay models are powered by an Intel Core i3 processor and support 10GbE networking for maximum performance...

Without question the QNAP TS-879 Pro is a beast when configured with the right hardware. Loaded with hard drives, in our case Western Digital RE4 Enterprise drives, the TS-879 Pro is as fast as any NAS device we have tested before it using a Gigabit Ethernet connection. However drop in a 10GbE network card and the TS-879 Pro is a totally different animal.

Today we are looking at the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB, which is the company’s fastest USB flash drive to date. By utilizing an eight-channel architecture Kingston claims that this new drive can achieved transfer rates of up to 225MB/s read and 135MB/s write, while capacities will range from 64GB through to 256GB...

Devices such as the Patriot Supersonic and the Supersonic Magnum have been at the top of the food chain for some time. So does the new DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 do anything to change this? Starting at $125 for the 64GB model it is already more expensive than the Supersonic Magnum which costs just $100 for the 64GB model.

Today we are taking a look at an OCZ brand SSD that uses a controller developed by the same manufacturer that powered the original Vertex series. Once again OCZ and Indilinx are working closely together, this time to create what is known as the Octane series. Boasting capacities up to 1TB, this new series is also SATA 6Gb/s compatible...

Getting back to the issue of performance, the Octane series does deliver, just not as well under all circumstances. When running our file copy tests we were blown away by the performance, which was consistently higher than competing SandForce drives. The real-world performance seemed to have its ups and downs, with the Octane 512GB providing strong Windows 7 boot time performance but average game level load times.

Today we are revisiting the Crucial m4 Solid-State Disk using the latest firmware, to see how it compares to the competition in terms of value and performance. This time we have the premium 512GB model on hand, so we are keen to see how half a terabyte of m4 handles itself...

Today the Crucial m4 is even better as firmware updates have fine-tuned the performance, allowing it to better compete with the speedy SF-2281 drives. The 512GB version of the m4 that we reviewed was exceptionally fast, providing rapid Windows 7 boot times and lightning fast multitasking performance.

Today we are checking out how the new Patriot Pyro SE drives perform when placing two of them in a RAID array. The Pyro SE is the latest SSD range from Patriot and it is their answer to the Vertex 3 as well as numerous other SandForce SF-2281 based SSDs...

In fact it was the file copy tests that really benefited from the use of RAID, as we found the Patriot Pyro SE 120GB drives were over 40% faster than a 240GB SandForce SF-2281 drive. In all three of our copy tests the Pyro SE 120GB RAID0 configuration delivered over 200MB/s and this kind of performance certainly helps justify the $410 investment.

Today we are checking out two of the newest desktop NAS (Network Attached Storage) solutions from Synology, which are part of their growing Disk Station x12 series. The budget orientated DS212j is designed to deliver the feature rich DSM 3.2 software as a cost effective 2-bay device, while the more expensive DS212+ focuses on performance...

The DS212+ on the other hand shares the exact same design as its predecessor the DS211+. The DS212+ does receive a 25% higher clocked processor, though the memory capacity remained the same at 512MB. The key advantage of the DS212+ is the addition of USB 3.0 support. Honestly we feel this is an essential feature for all new NAS devices to support and we were disappointed to find it missing on the DS212j, as well as the recently reviewed QNAP TS-119P II and TS-219P II.

Today we are checking out a new product from ADATA called S511, which is their latest SSD series. Based on a latest generation controller from SandForce, the S511 is the successor to the S599 series and as such promises to deliver blistering fast performance using the 6Gb/s SATA 3.0 interface...

The real-world performance of the S511 240GB was impressive as the drive performed well in both our file copy and application tests. The only weakness found was when running the CrystalDiskMark random 4K-QD32 test, where the read performance was considerably lower than the OCZ Vertex 3 240GB and Kingston HyperX 240GB drives.

Today we are checking out the QNAP TS-219P II and TS-119P II, which are designed to provide corporate workgroups or small office/home office users with budget-friendly network attached storage (NAS) solutions for efficient data backup and convenient file sharing...

Given the price and performance of the TS-119P II and TS-219P II models, we have found that they bridge the gap in QNAP’s current lineup very well. Although the TS-119P II is now the most expensive single bay device QNAP offers, it is also by far their most powerful. When compared to its predecessor, the TS-119P+, users can enjoy improved performance and an upgraded design for a small price premium.

Today we are checking out a few new portable USB 3.0 hard drives made by Silicon Power, called the Diamond D10 and Stream S20. These 2.5” portable drives come in a range of capacities and we will be taking a look at the 750GB models which are designed to provide plenty of mobile storage without breaking the bank...

Both the Silicon Power Stream S20 and Diamond D10 performed very well throughout the testing phase, as did the previously reviewed Stream S10. Still, if we were basing our choice on performance alone we would pick the Stream S20 for its superior read and write performance when handling large files, while it also blitzed the other drives in our game upload test.

Today we are checking out the Synology DiskStation DS712+, which is powered by an Intel Atom D425 dual-core processor and features a 1GB memory buffer. These hardware specifications should make the DS712+ quite snappy and the ability to support Link Aggregation should help maximize performance of the dual bay NAS device...

Overall we are impressed with the build quality, design, performance and features of the Synology DS712+. Meanwhile the DX510 expansion unit is an excellent way to increase storage without sacrificing performance. Combined, the two offer a highly flexible solution to growing businesses or professionals that cannot afford to cough up $800+ right off the bat for the larger devices.